In the news: Phantom Menace 3D is news to Ewan

GQ breaks the news. It sure seems like Ewan McGregor will be everywhere this year, but apparently the guy’s been so busy that it seems the first he’s heard of The Phantom Menace 3D is from the folks at the magazine. “They’re actually going to rerelease it into the cinema?” he asked GQ. “Well, that’s interesting.” Yeah, can’t say we’d be wildly enthusiastic to find out that our (hypothetical) rat-tail would be in three dimensions either. In other straight-from-1999 news, the Pepsi tie-ins are back.

Hobson profiled. Chicago businesswoman and Good Morning America contributor Mellody Hobson, perhaps best known to us as George Lucas’ girlfriend, is the subject of a brief profile in Forbes. She and Lucas will be featured on the January 15th episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter.

Gaming. The Old Republic might be coming to Mac. Nice try, folks.

Lucasfilm. George Lucas has big plans for a new digital technology facility at Grady Ranch, but some folks in Marin County aren’t exactly welcoming it with open arms.

Original trilogy swordmaster Bob Anderson dies

Bob Anderson, who did Darth Vader’s fighting in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, has died at age 89.

Anderson’s work on the Star Wars films was originally supposed to be a secret, but Mark Hamill outted him in a 1983 interview.

“It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told (director) George (Lucas) I didn’t think it was fair any more,” Hamill told Starlog magazine. “Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It’s ridiculous to preserve the myth that it’s all done by one man.”

An Olympic fencer for Great Britain in 1952, Anderson staged fights, coached actors and worked on stunts for dozens of movies, including Highlander, The Princess Bride, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

UPDATE: Hamill posted a dedication to Anderson on Twitter Tuesday afternoon: